Two area fire departments will be partnering in a recruit academy coming up this fall.

Two area fire departments will be partnering in an upcoming recruit academy.The Osage Beach Fire Protection District will be sending one of its newest members to the Recruit Fire Academy being conducted by the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District this fall.The SBFPD held its inaugural recruit academy in April 2014 as a kickoff to new standards within department operations. The academy was started as new positions were created by a levy increase approved in 2013.All new firefighters hired by the SBFPD now have to go through the academy as part of the hiring process.“We believe Recruit Academy bridges the gap between certification training and real world operational capabilities," Sunrise Beach Fire Chief Dennis Reilly says. "We are very happy to be partnering with Osage Beach in this effort.” OBFPD Chief Jeffery Dorhauer adds, “The sharing of resources saves each District and their taxpayer’s money. The fire service has utilized this practice for many years on the fire scene. Why not expand this into other areas, such as training, when possible?”The academy is a four-week training program that emphasizes physical fitness, the use of self-contained breathing apparatus and fire attack operations. The program also contains blocks of instruction on specialty topics like water rescue, rope rescue, tanker shuttle operations and wild land firefighting. “Our goal is that a graduate from our Academy can fit right into a dynamic emergency event five minutes into their first shift. The old approach of using strictly on-the-job training made it so that it could take months before a new firefighter was totally familiar with their roles and responsibilities,” Reilly says. Officials from both organizations believe that the concentrated nature of the four week program greatly decreases the time it takes for new firefighters to reach the level of proficiency gained in the four week academy. They also believe that this joint effort will strengthen the capabilities of each and could pave the way for future joint ventures.

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